Laboratory analyses confirm that the structure of the cardiac muscle fibers and the structure of the bread are intertwined in a way impossible to reproduce by human means.

Every day, on the altars of Catholic churches around the world, the greatest miracle possible takes place: the transformation of bread and wine into the true Body and Blood of Christ.

Nonetheless, when we receive Communion, we can only touch its true nature with our faith, because our senses only perceive bread and wine, physically unaltered by the consecration.

What are the implications, then, of the Eucharistic event in Sokolka, Poland?

It took place on Sunday, October 12, 2008, two weeks after the beatification of Servant of God Fr. Michael Sopocko.

During the Holy Mass celebrated at the parish church of St. Anthony in Sokolka, at 8:30 a.m., a consecrated host fell from the hands of one of the priests during the distribution of Communion, next to the altar. The priest interrupted the distribution of Communion and picked up the host, and, in accordance with liturgical norms, placed it in a small container of water—in this case, one found in some churches beside the tabernacle, where the priest may wash his fingers after distributing Communion. The host was expected to dissolve in the water, which would later be disposed of properly.

Sister Julia Dubowska, of the Congregation of the Eucharistic Sisters, was the parish sacristan. At the end of the Mass, at the request of the pastor, Fr. Stanislaw Gniedziejko, she poured the water and the host into another container. Knowing that the consecrated host would take some time to dissolve, she placed the new container in the safe located in the parish sacristy. Only she and the pastor had the keys to the safe.

A week later, on October 19, Mission Sunday, when the pastor asked her about the condition of the host, Sister Julia went to the safe. When she opened the door, she noticed a delicate aroma of unleavened bread. When she opened the container, she saw, in the middle of the host—which was still largely intact—a curved, bright red stain, like a blood stain: a living particle of a body. The water was untainted by the color.

The sister immediately informed the priest, who brought in the other priests at the parish and the visiting missionary, Fr. Ryszard Gorowski. They were all amazed and left speechless by what they saw.

They kept a discreet and prudent silence about the event, considering its importance; this was a consecrated host which, by the power of the words of Christ at the Last Supper, was truly His Body. From a human point of view, it was difficult at that point to define if the altered form of the remainder of the host was the result of an organic growth, a chemical reaction, or some other cause.

They immediately notified the metropolitan archbishop of Bialystok, Edward Ozorowski, who went to Sokolka with the chancellor of the Curia and other diocesan officials. They were all deeply moved by what they saw. The archbishop ordered that the host be protected while they waited to see what would happen.

On October 29, the container with the host was transferred to the Divine Mercy Chapel in the rectory, and placed in the tabernacle. The next day, by decision of the archbishop, the stained host was taken out of the water and placed on a small corporal, which was then put back in the tabernacle. The host was kept this way for three years, until it was solemnly brought to the church on October 2, 2011. During the first year, it was kept secret. During that time, the Church authorities reflected on what to do, since they were dealing with a sign from God which needed to be interpreted.

By mid-January of 2009, the altered fragment of the host had dried out naturally, and remained like a blood stain or clot; since then, its appearance has not changed.

That same month, the archbishop requested histopathological studies be done on the host. On March 30, he created an ecclesial commission to study the phenomenon.

A piece of the altered host was taken and analyzed independently by two experts, Prof. Maria Sobaniec-Lotowska, MD, and Prof. Stanislaw Sulkowski, MD, in order to ensure the credibility of the results. Both are histopathologists at the Medical University of Bialystok. The studies were carried out at the university’s Department of Pathomorphology.

The specialists’ work was governed by the scientific norms and obligations for analyzing any scientific problem in accordance with the directives of the Scientific Ethics Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences. The studies were exhaustively described and photographed. The complete documentation was given to the Metropolitan Curia of Bialystok.

When the samples were taken for analysis, the undissolved part of the consecrated host had become embedded in the cloth. However, the red blood clot was as clear as ever. This transformed part of the host was dry and fragile, inextricably interwoven with the rest of the fragment, which had kept the form of bread. The sample that was taken was large enough to carry out all the necessary studies.

The results of both independent studies were in perfect agreement. They concluded that the structure of the transformed fragment of the host is identical to the myocardial (heart) tissue of a living person who is nearing death. The structure of the heart muscle fibers is deeply intertwined with that of the bread, in a way impossible to achieve with human means, according to the declaration of Prof. Maria Sobaniec-Lotowska.

The studies proved that no foreign substance was added to the consecrated host; rather, part of the host took the form of heart muscle of a person near death. This kind of phenomenon is inexplicable by the natural sciences. At the same time, the Church teaches us that the consecrated host becomes the Body of Christ, by the power of His own words at the Last Supper, repeated by priests during the consecration of the Mass.

The results of the histopathological studies, dated January 21, 2009, were included in the dossier given to the Metropolitan Curia of Bialystok.

In its official communiqué, the Metropolitan Curia of Bialystok stated:

“The Sokolka event is not opposed to the faith of the Church; rather, it confirms it. The Church professes that, after the words of consecration, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the bread is transformed into the Body of Christ, and the wine into His Blood. Additionally, this is an invitation for all ministers of the Eucharist to distribute the Body of the Lord with faith and care, and for the faithful to receive Him with adoration.”

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Sr. Miriam of the Cross says she has the deepest friendship possible.

Sr. Miriam of the Cross belongs to the community of nuns in the Carmelite Convent of Merciful Love in the Polish city of Szczecin, but she did not want to be an “ordinary” nun and thus chose the life of a hermit.

How can we understand her choice in a world that is so allergic to silence?

This woman leads an incredible life, some might say anunnaturallife. It is unnatural in that we are created as social beings, to be in relationship with others. Without relationships, life could result in a mental illness. But Miriam of the Cross, with 16 years of silence, can tell us a lot.

What is her message? We can read it in her publications and learn about it from those who have met her.

For her fellow-nuns in the Szczecin convent she is the one who supports them with her silent prayer and testifies to the value of silence, offering a chance for a profound encounter with God. For the people around her, she is a question mark and sometimes an exclamation point.

Her hermitage is a small hut separated by the enclosure wall from the Carmelite convent. Contrary to what we might expect, it is not located in the depth of some woods or in a far-flung corner of a remote village, in an inaccessible place. Nothing of this sort.

The Carmelite Convent of Merciful Love, where Miriam’s hermitage is located, is a hallmark of the Szczecin district of Golęcin. Right outside its walls we can find a primary school, an oncology clinic, a retreat house, a parish office and a presbytery, as well as an outpatient clinic and a night shelter run by Caritas, the biggest Polish charity run by the Church. It is, then, a place surrounded by the hustle and bustle of daily life. And it is here that we can encounter the only woman in Poland who has taken the vow of perpetual silence.

Miriam the hermit – a vocation within a vocation.

This is what she herself writes about her experience:

“It is extremely difficult to express in words how happy your life in friendship with Our Lord and in incessant contact with Him is. Oh, what a faithful, generous, tender, gracious, humorous, ingenious, and loving Friend He is! This is a friendship that satisfies all the desires of the human heart, one that heals all wounds and liberates you from all limitations. He takes pity on our weaknesses and shows unsurpassable generosity.”

Sister Miriam entered the Carmelite Convent in Częstochowa. She arrived in Szczecin 35 years ago, in 1983, entrusted with a mission to establish a new community. After some time, she came to the realisation that God was inviting her to do greater things.

And she followed her call, crazy as the idea seemed. Since the Vatican Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life expressed an opinion that it was impossible to lead the life of a hermit within the Carmelite spirituality, Miriam was released from her vows in the Carmelite Order and on February 28, 1988, took the vows of a hermit before Bishop Kazimierz Majdański. In 2001 she took her vows of perpetual silence.

“Her face is like the sun”

The nun, who has for the past 30 years lived in the hermitage of the Most Holy Heart of Jesus, is really amazing. Iga, who often used to visit the Szczecin convent, observes as follows: “Her face is really like the sun! I met her on the feast of her patron saint, where she could be approached with best wishes. If one can read the state of the heart in someone by the look of their face, I can say that she is truly peaceful at heart. This was a short but memorable encounter. I would be responding to the questions she … was not asking. I had the impression that this was a dialogue during which she was asking what my name was, what I was doing for a living, and I was just answering those tacit questions. Miriam has a profound, gracious, passionate, and dynamic gaze.”

In the early 1990s Sister Miriam was entrusted with one more mission, similar to the one that had brought her to Szczecin. For three years, at the request of the local bishop, she supported a newly established congregation of the Sisters Disciples of the Cross. She became the head of the board of the congregation and made an indelible imprint on its spirituality. That was her last “external mission.”

A few years ago, in 2013, Miriam donned a hermit’s robe, a kind of scapular, symbolic of a voluntary adoption of humiliation and suffering for the glory of Jesus and the salvation of other people.

This marked the third, highest level of the monastic profession, originating in the Orthodox tradition, signifying an entry into a state close to that of angels and adopted on very rare occasions.

Why am I silent?

What does the life of the hermit look like today? The sister mainly prays, fasts, takes part in Holy Mass in the convent chapel, and paints icons. They can be found not only in the Carmelite convent chapel, but in many different locations. These are veritable works of art, a beauty born out of a profound silence.

In a letter titled “Why I am silent,” published in Więź monthly (11/2006), Sr. Miriam observed that she is certain about a close relation between silence and speech.

“Is not the vow of silence against human nature? I pose this question to myself, too. Without a doubt, silence is so hard for our nature, also for me. However, human social life is possible thanks to a certain dialectic of silence and speaking, contemplation and engagement, breaking free from worldly desires and enjoying the world, etc. Therefore, the role of silence in interpersonal communication, in relationships, seems crucial and actually necessary for obtaining some harmony. It is communication that takes place within the human spirit, where mindfulness, gentleness, attentiveness to the other, warmth, and respect originate. There is a close correlation between silence and speaking, as all is born out of silence.”

Her life, although it seems unimaginably difficult, is also a magnificent message about the existence of Mystery, which cannot be fathomed.

Many of you must have seen this viral image of the Bleeding Host Confirmed To Be The True Body And Blood Of Christ. If you haven’t seen that picture, you can watch it here.

While some of you may be wondering where this is and the story behind it, many others are also spreading false news to its origin and purpose of being there.

A bleeding Host in Poland that “has the hallmarks of a Eucharistic miracle” has been approved for veneration.

The announcement was made by Bishop Zbigniew Kiernikowski of Legnica on Sunday, according to reports.

On Christmas Day in 2013, a consecrated Host fell to the floor, the bishop said in a statement. It was put in a container of water and red stains subsequently appeared on the Host.

After the discovery, the former Bishop of Legnica set up a commission to observe the phenomenon, the statement said.

“In February 2014, a tiny red fragment of the Host was seperated and put on a corporal. The Commission ordered to take samples in order to conduct the thorough tests by the relevant research institutes,” the statement added.

Tests were performed at the Department of Forensic Medicine in Wroclaw at the beginning of 2014. Another study was subsequently performed by the Department of Forensic Medicine of the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, which concluded that “in the histopathological image, the fragments (of the Host) were found containing the fragmented parts of the cross striated muscle. It is most similar to the heart muscle. Tests also determined the tissue to be of human origin, and found that it bore signs of distress.”

Bishop Kiernikowski said the Host bore signs of “a Eucharistic miracle” and explained that in January of this year he took the matter to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

In April, according to a recommendation made by the Holy See, he asked parish priest Andrzej Ziombrze “to prepare a suitable place” for the Host so that the faithful could venerate it.

“I hope that this will serve to deepen the cult of the Eucharist and will have deep impact on the lives of people facing the Host,” the bishop added.

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In Poland, a consecrated host fell on the floor and picked up and placed in a container with water, according to the report by Bishop Zbigniew Kiernikowski of Legnica on Sunday. The falling of the host and its preservation occurred on the Christmas day of 2013 after the host was conserved in a container with water by the Parish Priest, it gradually began to turn to change color, possessing red-bloody stains.

“In February 2014, a tiny red fragment of the Host was separated and put on a corporal. The Commission ordered to take samples in order to conduct the thorough tests by the relevant research institutes,” said Bishop Kiernikowski
The bleeding host had for sometimes now been attributed to having “the hallmarks of a Eucharistic miracle”

The final medical statement by the Department of Forensic Medicine found that “in the histopathological image, the fragments (of the Host) were found containing the fragmented parts of the cross striated muscle. It is most similar to the heart muscle. Tests also determined the tissue to be of human origin, and found that it bore signs of distress.”
Bleeding Host

Bishop Kiernikowski said he believes that the Bleeding host has “a Eucharistic miracle”, he told reporters that he took this case to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. And the Vatican in April approved the findings and reports of the case and recommended the parish priest, Fr. Andrzej Ziombrze “to prepare a suitable place” for the Host so that the faithful could venerate it.

“I hope that this will serve to deepen the cult of the Eucharist and will have a deep impact on the lives of people facing the Host,” Bishop Kiernikowski said.